This charming Japanese sandwich shop in Portland serves up crave-worthy delights like crispy katsu and unique Tokyo-style sandos, all in a cozy food truck vibe.
"Taiki Nakajima’s popular Japanese-style sandwich cart is the Midtown Beer Garden, where diners can enjoy meals with beer from Fracture Brewing and live music on occasion. Nakajima uses slices of shokupan as bookends for fillings like pork katsu, panko-breaded tofu, and creamy egg salad. The cart has a menu of regular sandwiches, but specials like the deep-fried curry pan sando or one stuffed with strawberries and cream are the attraction for regulars: They’re announced on Instagram and typically sell out fast." - Janey Wong
"With shokupan sandwiches styled after the popular Japanese convenience store “sandos,” Tokyo Sando makes distinctive versions packed with flavor, like a gyoza scotch egg-filled special and a chicken nanban with tartar sauce and red cabbage. The shop’s miso pork katsu is a particular standout with crispy fried pork with a hearty dose of miso sauce and black garlic; it’s also available with tofu." - Alex Frane
"Tokyo Sando brings the best of Japanese convenience store culture (“combini”) to the Midtown Beer Garden, the revamped version of a longstanding downtown food cart pod, with picnic table seating for 300 and a stage for live music. While egg salad sandwiches might be a 7-Eleven staple in Tokyo, they’re nothing like this food cart’s overstuffed version that incorporates two soft-boiled eggs, sliced to expose their jammy yolks, on crustless shokupan. The katsu sandwich featuring a breaded pork cutlet and savory brown sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage leans closer to tradition, but if that’s too pedestrian, opt for the naka sando that amps up a chicken cutlet with tartar sauce like they do in Kyushu. The plaza comes alive during lunchtime with nearby office workers and tourists. photo credit: Emily Triggs" - Krista Garcia
"Tokyo Sando brings the best of Japanese convenience store culture (“combini”) to the Midtown Beer Garden, the revamped version of a longstanding downtown food cart pod, with picnic table seating for 300 and a stage for live music. While egg salad sandwiches might be a 7-Eleven staple in Tokyo, they’re nothing like this food cart’s overstuffed version that incorporates two soft-boiled eggs, sliced to expose their jammy yolks, on crustless shokupan. The katsu sandwich featuring a breaded pork cutlet and savory brown sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage leans closer to tradition, but if that’s too pedestrian, opt for the naka sando that amps up a chicken cutlet with tartar sauce like they do in Kyushu. The plaza comes alive during lunchtime with nearby office workers and tourists." - krista garcia
"Japanese food cart that closed in December 2023, teased a return. The owner is currently in Tokyo, considering taking over his dad's izakaya." - Janey Wong
